Strictly-Extrusion

Brampton Engineering has discovered a way to prevent the onset of melt fracture at the exit of blown film dies when processing LLDPE resins with no processing aids. Melt fracture is the occurrence of a pattern on the surface of the film due to stick and slip of the film on the die lips. This fine graining on the surface of film is visually unappealing and makes film unsuitable for printing. To ensure that the resin does not stick to the die, manufacturers incur significant costs by adding a processing aid to the resins. NoFrac® is a BE proprietary lip treatment for blown film lip sets which is more robust than Teflon and it does not wear off. It allows production of blown film with narrower die gap and has higher potential output rate and better physical properties. The die can run at lower pressure. One customer who has used NoFrac trouble-free for one year has eliminated the use of 2% PPA. They estimate they have saved [CDN]$60,000/yr ($1.16/lb PPA).With Brampton Engineering NoFrac customers can save the cost of adding processing aid and produce film with no melt fracture. This new die feature eliminates the need to blend other materials such as LDPE or to add process aids to operate at lower die gaps. NoFrac reduces scrap; allows operation at 10 to 20% reductions in pressure. The NoFrac non-stick coating is easy-to-clean. Unlike other lip coatings, BE trials have proven NoFrac proprietary lip treatment to be durable.The NoFrac die feature does not use heat as some previous systems have. It can be retrofitted to existing Brampton lip sets or on new Brampton dies.

For further information, contact Philip Kwok, Vice President Sales
T: 905-793-3000
F: 905-793-1753
Email: salesadmin@be-ca.com

Fife Corp., USA has developed a new infrared web-guiding system uses fiber optics to transmit temperature readings. The sensor is able to operate in environments as hot as 500 F while transmitting data to a PLC in a cooler location. The sensor Model SE-32 was developed for use on curing and laminating lines. Because the sensor reads i-r light, it won’t work on clear films, but is for opaque, high-temperature web materials and nonwovens.

The polyethylene film extrusion industry in Europe continues to be characterised by corporate change and restructuring among the leading players. This is the finding of Applied Market Information which has recently published an update of its survey “Corporate performance and ownership among polyethylene film extruders in Europe - a review of Europe’s 50 leading players”. The changes are being driven by highly competitive market conditions, fluctuating raw material costs and increasing price pressure from customers. The result has been an ongoing process of change among the leading polyethylene film companies as strategies are evaluated and changed and management seek to achieve market leadership in their chosen sector. The leading companies can no longer afford to run disparate operations involved in a variety of sectors but increasingly look to focus on core business competencies, deriving cost benefits from tighter management structures.

EUROPE’S TOP 10 POLYETHYLENE FILM EXTRUSION GROUPS
Company name Head office location
1 British Polythene Industries UK
2 Trioplast Industrier Sweden
3 Rheinische Kunststoffwerke Germany
4 Armando Alvarez Group Spain
5 Nordenia International Germany
6 Bischof + Klein Germany
7 Manuli Stretch Italy
7 SP Métal France
9 Nuova Pansac Italy
10 BP Chemicals UK
© Applied Market Information Ltd., 2001

A newly designed twin screw barrel section design facilitates a dramatic increase in heat transfer capabilities for Leistritz’s range of segmented twin screw extruders with screw diameters from 18 to 135 mm. Each barrel is 4 diameters in length (for a 100 mm twin screw the barrel is 400 mm long), electrically heated via cartridge heaters and utilizes internal cooling bores closely situated to the barrels figure 8 pattern and process melt stream. The number of longitudinal cooling bores for each barrel has been increased to
facilitate significantly improved heat transfer capabilities for the individual barrel sections. The coolant flow rate to the barrels, typically treated water or oil, is also boosted to match the increased heat removal efficiencies inherent with the design. The coolant flow rates to the barrels can be individually regulated via needle valves to accommodate widely differing temperature set points for the barrel sections along the process length.

For more information with regard to Leistritz’s new high intensity barrels cooling option contact Charlie Martin at phone: 908/685-2333, fax: 908/685-0247, or e-mail: cmartin@alec-usa.com.

Wintriss Engineering Corp., USA, introduced a new CCD-camera line-scanning system spots film flaws as small as 0.005 in. The Opsis 5150 “smart” cameras used in the Web Ranger 2000 system have 5000-pixel resolution and image-analysis capability built into the camera itself. That means faster data processing, as they don’t need separate frame grabbers or image processors. Full-resolution scans run at 7500 lines/sec. The turnkey system includes light and power sources, Ethernet communications, PC-compatible software and training.

With a deal signed on 16 February 2001, Uponor’s subsidiary Asko Real Estate Ltd. sold its 35.8 per cent of the shares in the real estate company Kaiharin Kulma Kiinteistöosakeyhtiö, which entitle to the ownership of the Asko House in the city of Tampere, Finland. The buyer of the shares is Pirkanmaan Jiimen Oy, a Finnish investment company. The sales price for the shares was FIM 27.5 million (EUR 4.6 m). The Asko House real estate (floor area 4,660 m2) is occupied by the Asko furniture shop of the Indoor Group Oy and by Pintaväri Oy’s paint and furnishings shop. The sale of the shares is a part of Uponor’s strategy to focus on its core business, Plastic Pipe systems.

A new Ion Air Blower eliminates static charges from film winding systems. Haug North America powers the 5-lb unit with its new model EN-C power pack, whose high-voltage transformer consists of three individually replaceable modules. A standard blower treats an area 18 in. wide.

Plast-Control Inc., USA, offers a new low-end extrusion controller for continuous gravimetric feeding. Model GT3 is said to be the first control package that uses a central vacuum system for the hopper loaders. It is also the first that calculates when a production run will end, and thus knows automatically when to stop feeding the resin for that product and switch to a new resin for another product. The GT3 controls up to three hoppers (one main hopper plus two dosing units) on a single extruder or single hoppers on three extruders. The new features of the GT3 will soon be extended to the whole Plast-Control product line.

A new 1,5-in.-diam., air-cooled extruder for small medical tubing was introduced by Merritt Davis Corp., USA. The new MD Series has 24:1 L/D and a 15 hp AC vector drive rated at 30 hp with a double-reduction gear box. A patent-pending, H-shaped frame option for coextruders reportedly gives the extruder portability as well as stability at high output rates. The Xaloy 102 barrel is nickel plated on the outside except for the chrome-plated feed throat. A new stainless-steel hopper design has “logarithmically” curved sides to eliminate dead spots or bridging. The unit’s built-in controller monitors up to four barrel heating or cooling zones and three downstream functions.

A recent version of a multi-spindle winder for tubing, profiles and strapping is smaller and lower in cost than previous Accu-Wind computer-controlled models. The modular MS 121 winder from Progressive Machine Co., USA, is a stackable, 30-in. cube that can be used in various configurations to wind extruded strips in-line. Programmed winding patterns can be stored to reduce set-up time. Flexible controls also allow simultaneous winding of different volumes of profiles on individual spindles.